Before you embark on a marketing/PR campaign, you need to
have a plan; I am a planning freak as I really believe that for something
(anything) to be successful, there has to be a plan of attack.
Our standard marketing/PR plan layout for all SME clients
(the bigger companies have their own!) is a simple spreadsheet that lists all
the possible activities down the side, and the days/weeks/months along the top
(depending on how much activity you are planning – weekly is the most usual). We usually have the activities listed in
sections, so for a marketing client we would break it down under headings such
as advertising, public relations, direct marketing, etc – even social
activities can be included as this helps to act as a reminder that you need to
get out there!
To fill in the plan, you need to have an idea of budget –
and this can be anything you feel comfortable with; you don’t have to spend a
fortune, and let’s face it, you are probably not going to go for some of the
more costly items, such as TV or outdoor advertising (and if you are, then I
would hope that you know how to plan for this already, otherwise you stand to
lose a lot of money!). And then you start to fill the plan in, taking
into account the quieter times (July/August), peak times for your particular
business – for example, if you are bringing out a new product or service you
need to intensify what happens in the marketing build up around that time –
Christmas, etc.
You also need to think about one of my other pet topics;
little and often – you don’t want to spend most of your money on one big event
as that will only have a short-term effect.
So ensure that you spread the spend evenly through the year and across
the activities, so that you get the ‘drip, drip, drip’ effect that I have
mentioned previously.
Then there is another very important consideration. KNOW WHO YOU ARE TARGETING!! I put this in capital letters as I have had
so many conversations in recent weeks – and can I just say that these have
included with some senior marketing people in big firms – where it is quite
clear that the marketing is being planned around who the company WANTS its
customers to be, rather than who they actually are!
Let’s say you have a
very expensive product that is beyond the reach of most, especially the
locals. How can you possibly expect your
marketing to succeed if your advertising, PR, direct mailing and so on is
targeted only at local, average wage earners.. do you see my point?
If you know who you are targeting and if you plan your
marketing with the overall aim of achieving the ‘drip, drip, drip effect’, then
marketing really does work.
Or does it?
More follows soon.
Jo
